Yorkshire Pudding Recipe

The Editors
Category
Puddings and Custards
Course
Side Dishes
Occasions
Christmas
Preparation Method
Bake
Sources
Favorite New England Recipes

Yorkshire pudding is a cross between a dinner roll, popover, and soufflé. It’s the classic English side dish at the traditional “Sunday roast,” as it’s the perfect gravy-absorbing companion. In the U.S., Yorkshire pudding is a hit at Christmastime, served with roasted beef or sometimes roasted chicken.

Note: The word “pudding” in the U.S. means dessert. However, a Yorkshire Pudding is a puffed pastry baked with meat drippings. It’s not airy and hard like a popover but more of a soft, eggy side dish to the roast beef.

Named after the northern county in England, Yorkshire pudding was devised by cooks to use the fat that dropped into the dripping pan to cook a battered pudding while the meat was roasted. The Yorkshire pudding was served as a first course alongside a thick gravy; the low-cost ingredients dulled the appetite so that diners would not eat as much of the more expensive meat in the next course.

After the roast is finished, the beef drippings are added to the bottom of a large roasting pan or a large (12-cup) muffin tin. The oven’s heat (or fire) makes the pudding rise, and fat seeps in, so it puffs up. The Royal Society of Chemistry of England says, “A Yorkshire pudding isn’t a Yorkshire pudding if it is less than four inches tall.” That might be a “tall” challenge, but the idea is certainly to rise until puffed and golden brown. 

Ingredients
2 beaten eggs.
1 cup plain flour
3/4 cup whole milk
1/2 cup water
2 tablespoons beef drippings
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
Instructions
  • Preheat the oven to 425°F. 
  • Begin by placing a sieve over a large and roomy mixing bowl, then sift the flour in.
  • Make a hole in the center of the flour and slowly whisk the beaten eggs into the flour. Add salt and pepper.
  • Gradually add the milk and water, whisking continuously. Stop and scrape the sides of the bowl with a spatula so that any lumps can be pushed down into the batter, then whisk again until all the liquid is mixed. Try to get the batter smooth and airy. 
  • (Optional Step: Cover and leave batter to rest for up to 1 hour. Just before cooking, whisk thoroughly again to break down any lumps and add some more air.)
  • Pour a small amount of drippings (or oil) into your pan or muffing tin. The baking pan should have deep straight sides to help the pudding rise. Or, if you’re using a 12-cup muffin tin, brush the drippings into the bottom (about 1 teaspoon per muffin cup). 
  • Heat the pan and drippings in the oven until sizzling hot. It’s very important to heat up the pan before adding the batter for the pudding to rise. 
  • Carefully take out the warmed tin/s. Pour the batter into the pan/tin with the drippings and QUICKLY return to the oven (preferably a middle or high shelf).
  • Bake 20 to 30 minutes until the puddings have risen and are golden brown. (DO NOT open the oven door in the first 10 to 15 minutes or those fluffy puddings will DROP and collapse! Use the oven light to keep an eye on them.)
  • When done, the pudding will be puffy and golden brown.
  • Serve the puddings at once with the roast and spoonfuls of hot gravy.
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The Old Farmer's Editors

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Comments

Ollie (not verified)

3 years 11 months ago

I’m a bit puzzled by the ingredient list. I make a Yorkie nearly every weekend with the same quantities but with 3 eggs. To fill a 2 cup measuring jug with eggs would I think take many more, perhaps up to six?

Apologies, we’re not sure what you mean. This ingredient list is pretty standard for a traditional Yorkshire Pudding. Some have 2 eggs; some have 3 eggs. Some have less or more flour or drippings. But it’s tested out! Let us know if you try it!

I'm with the OP, who is not quibbling over 2 eggs or 3 eggs. Your recipe as published says 2 CUPS of eggs.

I've been hybridizing several recipes over the years, including the 2-egg vs. 3-egg question, and have settled down to 3 eggs with ~1 cup of liquid (mixed milk and water) and 1 cup of flour, in a square pan. The 3rd egg produces a lot more rise and openness. Recently experimented with a half recipe, but with 2 eggs, in a glass loaf pan, as we are now empty nesters. Worked out great!

John Brear (not verified)

3 years 11 months ago

As a yorkshireman, I can vouch for this recipe - enjoy!
We always had yorkshire pudding with our Sunday roast. In winter it was four-inch puddings filled with rich onion gravy as a starter; in summer it was muffin-sized as a side. Mutton was a popular meat in the '50s and yielded an equally good dripping. Butter works fine for vegetarians.
As the batter is close to that for pancakes, leftover puds make a great tea-time treat with strawberry jam!
Another option as a mid-week main is 'toad-in-the-hole'. Heat a large, straight-sided baking pan with the dripping in the bottom, add your favourite sausages and pour the batter over, than bake as described. Roast vegetables - batons of carrot, parsnip, swede/rutabaga, wedges of onion, strips of pepper - make a great veggie alternative.
Glad to know our best export is appreciated in the US!

Cat Slater (not verified)

13 years 11 months ago

Thanks and cannot wait to give this a try.

Kevin Murphy 2 (not verified)

13 years 11 months ago

My grandmother's recipe (she came here from Yorkshire as a senior citizen) also emphasized the beef drippings--1/2 cup, as I recall her original recipe.
However, not confident about adequate supplies of beef drippings, I have, for decades, substituted 1/8 pound (1/2 a stick) of butter, cut up and melted in the container just before adding the batter. It works just as well as my grandmother's original.
Her recipe also specified 1/2 cup milk and 1/2 cup of water (possibly an economy move in the later 1800s and early 20th century in Yorkshire). I have retained that ratio, as well.
My grandmother also specified one egg, but my mother tended to use 2, and I follow that rule--but one egg will work. However, the Yorkshire pudding that results is, as I recall, thinner, and crustier.
I also vary the time and temperature, using 400 degrees, for 45 minutes to an hour, to coincide with the meat and other items, and that has worked well for us.
We have also recently stopped using salt in the recipe, and that is no problem.